& In 2013, the overall prosperity of the animal husbandry industry was sluggish. China's animal husbandry industry suffered a series of setbacks, including the Huangpu River pig death incident, the H7N9 avian influenza attack on the poultry industry, and the low efficiency of dairy farming leading to the withdrawal of free range households. At the same time, it also welcomed the listing of animal husbandry products - egg futures, the introduction of relevant policies, and increased macroeconomic regulation efforts. Animal husbandry covers multiple categories such as meat, poultry, eggs, and milk, which are related to the national economy and people's livelihood. At the end of the year, why not take a look at what noteworthy news has happened in the livestock industry this year?

  & nbsp;   & nbsp; The Huangpu River Dead Pig Floating Incident: The Pearl of the East Becomes the 'Pig of the East'

  & On March 5, 2013, floating dead pigs were discovered in the waters of the Songjiang section of the Huangpu River in Shanghai and in some upstream rivers such as Xupu Pond in Jinshan District. According to investigations, more than 13000 dead pigs have been salvaged. The dead pig incident exposed various drawbacks in pig farming, including areas where the carrying capacity of the environment has been far exceeded, outdated farming methods, non-standard farming practices, and insufficient measures for handling dead pigs.

  & nbsp;     H7N9 flu makes a comeback, poultry industry suffers heavy blow

  & nbsp;    The H7N9 subtype avian influenza virus discovered in humans in March 2013 is particularly concerning, causing not only human casualties but also severely damaging the poultry industry. In provinces where avian influenza outbreaks have occurred, the prices of poultry products have plummeted, sales have basically stagnated, and there is no demand for chicks. Small and medium-sized farmers are deeply losing money, and the stable development of the industry is facing severe challenges. In provinces where no epidemic has occurred, there has also been a sharp decline in poultry consumption and a lack of demand for livestock products from farmers. According to incomplete statistics, the poultry industry has suffered losses exceeding 60 billion yuan this year.

  & nbsp;   Livestock futures variety - egg futures listed

  & nbsp;   On March 18, 2013, Dalian Commodity Exchange released a draft of egg futures contract. On September 25, 2013, the China Securities Regulatory Commission approved the listing of egg futures contracts on the Dalian Commodity Exchange. On November 8, 2013, egg futures were listed on the Dalian Commodity Exchange. As a domestic fresh variety, egg futures have enriched the variety system of the domestic futures market and provided a tool for the egg laying industry to avoid market risks of "chicken flying and egg beating".

  & nbsp;  WTO ruled that the United States won the chicken trade lawsuit, and the smoke of the chicken dispute between China and the United States has not dissipated

  & nbsp;    The World Trade Organization (WTO) ruled on August 2 that the United States has won a long-standing trade dispute with China, stating that China's unfair practice of imposing anti-dumping tariffs has restricted US poultry exports. On September 25th, the WTO officially adopted the ruling, and the United States called on China to reopen its market to American chicken products.

  & nbsp;    Over the past four years, due to China's imposition of high anti-dumping tariffs on American chicken, the export volume of American chicken products to China has decreased by 90%, resulting in an estimated loss of $1 billion for exporters.

  & nbsp;     The chicken dispute between China and the United States has a long history. In 2004, both China and the United States experienced outbreaks of avian influenza and stopped importing each other's poultry products. Afterwards, after negotiations between China and the United States, they agreed to lift their respective bans and agreed that after fulfilling relevant procedures, the United States would export frozen poultry products to China, while China would export cooked poultry products to the United States. However, while ensuring the fulfillment of its commitments, the US hopes to start exporting to China first. China has already opened its market to American poultry products in advance, but the US government has tried every means to obstruct and reject our poultry products. The long-standing chicken meat dispute between China and the United States has begun.

  & nbsp;    Shuanghui's acquisition of Smithfield for 7.1 billion yuan advances global meat enterprise

  & nbsp;    On September 26, 2013, the merger and acquisition transaction between Shuanghui and Smithfield was officially completed. Shuanghui International completed the acquisition of Smithfield for $7.1 billion, becoming a global meat products company. Currently, Shuanghui is planning to join forces with Mexico's Sigma to bid for Spanish meat giant Campofrio Food Group.

  & nbsp;     ”Milk shortage hits domestic dairy companies, staging a big drama of mergers and acquisitions

  & nbsp;     This year's Chinese dairy industry has been full of ups and downs. The wave of "toxic milk powder" from Evergrande has not subsided, and Dumex has once again hurt the nerves of the public. Since August, the wave of domestic milk price increases sweeping across the north and south of China has once again raised concerns about a "milk shortage". In the past two years, the cost of dairy farming has continued to increase, but the price of milk sources has not correspondingly risen, causing a setback in the scale of dairy farming. At the same time, the pace of large-scale breeding in China is slow, unable to keep up with the pace of dairy farmers' withdrawal, resulting in a shortage of milk supply. Bagged milk and liquid milk have been significantly increased in prices across the country.

  & nbsp;     In order to standardize the domestic infant formula industry standards, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology convened a meeting of 127 infant formula enterprises in June 2013 to release the "Double Proposal" action plan, which required that infant formula be managed in accordance with drug regulations and encouraged milk powder enterprises to merge and restructure. Subsequently, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology prepared and submitted the "Work Plan for Promoting the Merger and Restructuring of Infant Formula Industry Enterprises" to the State Council. The "Plan" proposed to strive for the integration of the total number of infant formula industry enterprises in China to around 50 in five years, and the industry concentration of the top 10 domestic brand enterprises to exceed 80%. This means that 60% of dairy enterprises will be merged. On December 25, 2013, the China Food and Drug Administration issued the "Detailed Rules for the Review of Production Licenses for Infant Formula Milk Powder (2013 Edition)"., known asstrictThe dairy industry standards.